Product Review | Rolife Book Nook: Sakura Wine Alley

One of my favorite hobbies is building things. This includes: Lego sets, miniature DIY sets, etc. This year for Christmas my older sister gifted me one of Rolife's Booknook series—Sakura Wine Alley (I built one of their previous sets before, specifically, the Cathy's Flower House). If you are interested in building one yourself, you can find it here (currently $66.99 CAD at the time of writing this post).

In this set, the box comes with a clear step by step instruction booklet with 33 pages and 249 wooden puzzle pieces (this also includes stickers and mini figures). The set also includes the right amount of essential materials such as invisible tape (which I was happy about since in my previous experience I did not enjoy using glue for the Flower House set), so you don't need to worry about running out.

My first impression of the set was that the wood was high quality. I loved how each piece had precise cuts so that the parts could fit together easily—that said, there were a few pieces where I did have trouble piecing together so I had to apply more pressure to fit in the parts; I was scared of breaking the wood since some of them seemed thin, but luckily I didn't damage any parts. Another thing that I noticed was that there were small markings, for example an X, stamped on some of the wooden pieces which I appreciated—the markings were used to indicate where we would place certain stickers as well as the mini figurines.

The instructions in the booklet were also clear and simple to follow along. The illustrations were big and it included tips of how the puzzle should look like to ensure the parts were placed correctly. I only had trouble near the end of the puzzle (the electrical wiring part) where I had to watch a YouTube video to ensure I was wiring the parts correctly. Which brings me to my next point, one of the coolest features of this BookNook is that different parts of the puzzle light up, creating a realistic feel of the atmosphere.

After assembling the puzzle together, I was impressed with how detailed each part is, creating a traditional Japanese vibe. The set includes elements such as cherry blossoms, ramen noodles, Japanese lantern, etc, capturing its culture. 🌸

Overall, this set is great for people who enjoy puzzles or people who like to build things. It took approximately 6-7 hours to complete and this is a great set for beginners who are starting to dip their toes in the world of miniature DIY sets. Lastly, I just wanted to say that Rolife did a really good job in designing this set; they put in a lot of effort in guiding the builders via their clear instructions, high quality materials, making this a fun and relaxing experience for beginners. This book now lives on my bookshelf. 😊

through the secret garden